


Chromatic Clarity

by InkSpottie



Series: Monochrome Madness [2]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Not Beta-Ed so be prepared for errors, just the ramblings of someone who still loves this AU, mild body horror, oneshots and drabbles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25385905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkSpottie/pseuds/InkSpottie
Summary: The Past, Present, and Future of the Monochrome Madness universe.A collections of drabbles, oneshots and prompts that are snippets of what transpired in this universe.As well as some that are not apart of the true story.
Relationships: Allison Angel/Tom, Henry Stein/Linda Stein
Series: Monochrome Madness [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1838554
Comments: 11
Kudos: 59





	1. A Darkened Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! Happy 2nd anniversary Monochrome Madness, and my gift to you all is this. A collection of my ramblings of the Monochrome Madness universe. Could be things that take place before, during and after the story, or maybe even things that could of but I decided against it. 
> 
> Like this one for example, a snippet of the original beginning. A what if, and what I had planned for the beginning of Monochrome Madness but decided against it because it was a bit too dark for my liking. 
> 
> This one has a bit of mild body horror, nothing too crazy, so enough of me rambling let’s get on with it!

Drip. 

Drop. 

Drip.

The sound of ink lightly hitting the decaying floorboards was prominent. Everything was on fire, like someone lit a match in his veins.

He couldn’t move, couldn't breathe, couldn’t  _ see.  _

It was fuzzy on the edges of his mind, where was he? What was he doing here? 

The studio. 

The studio, God the studio. This inked up hell, this nightmare that wouldn’t stop ending. 

_ Boris _

He struggles against the tendrils of darkness, the image of his friend turned Beast was gripping at his neck. Clutching it, squeezing it. 

_ Snip snip  _

He can see light, faded and old. His eyes finally decide to work as he hears humming. Soft musical humming as someone is working at a table not far from where he is. 

_ Henry Stein. Your name is Henry Stein. You came back to the studio in hopes to rekindle an old friendship.  _

“Oh, you’re awake.” The voice croons, Henry realizing he was trapped. Strapped down to some table, liquid splattered across his hands making them stick to the metal. The same tables that he seen all those Boris’ on...

He makes a noise, coughing harshly as the burning sensation of his throat aches even more so than usual. 

Boris had choked him out. He had passed out and-

_ Alice.  _

The figure turns around and the light peers through the darkness showing a woman with a half melted face and horns poking through her head. A golden band is embedded in her skull and she’s wearing an apron over her dress, it’s covered in splotches of ink, like a butcher’s apron. 

She grins showing blackened gums and yellowed teeth through the parts of her skin that’s exposed. “Hello dear.” She says, her voice sultry and cold. Venomous to the core. 

He grunts trying to move and she clicks her tongue pulling a tool off her table behind her, the metal scraping making his ears ring.

“Now, now we don’t want you to wiggle your way out now do we? I did promise a date after all.” Alice steps closer and Henry can feel his throat clog up as he sees the tool she’s brandishing. 

It looks like a bonesaw, caked with dried ink. 

Alice looks at the tool and hums, “Oh don’t worry this is just for precautions. So I would behave like a good little man.” 

Henry’s lips purse at that, his eyes narrowed and Alice barks out a laugh.

“Did I touch a nerve?” She says sauntering closer, a clawed hand grabbing his face and squeezed his chin with a feral grin. Her singular eye is running up and down his face, scanning for something, what Henry didn’t know. 

She frowns, pulling away from Henry, “That Boris was supposed to be the one! The one to grant me perfection.” She steps away in frustration, rambling to herself, making Henry unsure of just what she’s talking about. 

“I’m supposed to be perfect!” She shouts at no one and Henry swallows, first Sammy and now this. It seemed to be a running joke of him being tied down by some psychopath. 

She whips around to face him, stepping closer and closer, her halo throbbing with light. “But you, you’re different. Perhaps you can make me whole. Make me the true angel I am meant to be.” She says gently tracing his jaw and moving to his chest, tapping his heart. 

“Now I just can’t rip it out of course…can’t have that…” 

Henry can feel his heart beating fast in his ears, her clawed hand still pressed against his chest staring intently at it, as if thinking of what to do. 

“I know just the thing..” She states after a moment. “How will you react to the ink? The swimming voices screeching in your ears? That ink demon would be terribly annoyed if you were one of... _ us. _ ” 

Henry feels like he’s about to explode as she returns to the table looking for something. “I need wings, I need eyes, I need to be  _ perfect _ . She won’t let me kill you, but I can do something better.” 

Alice chuckles as she turns holding a syringe, the same one he’s used to gather the thick ink for one of her tasks. 

“I’m curious how this procedure will work. Fear not for you are to walk in the lands of angels now dear. I will make sure of that.” 

She steps closer and Henry gives out a cry trying to move, trying to escape, but the straps keep him still as she continues to move closer, syringe in hand. 

Alice begins to hum, singing her tune as if that’s meant to comfort her. “I’ll build you in my own image..” 

Henry shouts once more. “P-please.” He stammers coughing loudly, his throat stinging. This couldn’t be happening. Oh god what was she going to  _ do. _

“Hush now, everything will be better. You’ll see clearly. Let the ink embrace you…” She’s starting to sound like Sammy, this ink. This ink, they made out like it was some sort of entity. 

Something that granted true clarity. 

The table slides down to a horizontal position and Henry whimpers feeling sweat trickle down his brow as she looms over him. Like a surgeon before surgery. 

“You’ll be thankful for this later. For you have chosen the path of the angel dear. Not many get their wings this way..” 

She doesn’t hesitate as the syringe digs into his arm, sending a spike of pain into his nerves causing him to cry out, tears forming in his eyes. 

“First thing we’ll do is get rid of that ghastly scar..” 

He doesn’t hear the rest as pain burns into him. Like hot molten seeping into his veins, he watches in horror as black dark ink crawls up his arm, his fingers turning a dark black as the ink begins to consume. 

He screams in terror ignoring the pain that comes with it, as it travels up his arm across his shoulder, ink splattering out of his mouth and nose as he cries kicking and jerking. 

Alice is singing as the ink does its job, he can’t hear her over his own screams. He feels it attach to his face, it’s cold and it’s numbing. He can’t feel anything as he’s being turns into a man of ink. Like Sammy, like the Lost Ones. 

It consumes and it destroys, until there’s nothing left. 

Everything begins to turn dark, until he feels a warmth. His heart begins to beat, a golden spiral begins to form around his chest making Alice gasp in surprise. 

He’s unable to understand what’s happening, he can’t feel anything and soon darkness takes over. 

He only hears one thing from Alice before he falls into the inky abyss. 

“ _ The Creator.”  _


	2. Ripped Open and Pulled Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Found a little drabble that was in my docs from 2018, when I first made the Fallen One and it’s design. If you don’t follow me on tumblr/twitter the Fallen One is essentially the Beast Bendy form of my Henry since I imagine all toons have a more monstrous side to them. 
> 
> And since I revamped the Fallen One’s design to fit now human Henry why not see what I had written all those years ago. 
> 
> Mind you this is just a branch of Monochrome, one that doesn’t entirely exist so bare with any confusing moments or errors. Just a rambling of my thoughts that I couldn’t draw on paper.

The Ink Machine stood before them, the large machine churning and spitting out ink so much that it pooled around the empty chasm that once held it. 

Henry swallows as they all step closer, the ink shuddering as a bridge of hardened ink crawled to the ledge as a foreboding way to invite them in.

“Step into my parlor said the spider to the fly.” Allison whispered as she unsheathes her machete and Tom clenches his robotic hand.

“This is it, this is the end.” Norman says, his eye shuddering as Henry took the first step onto the hardened ink, finding it as sturdy as a rock. 

He was in there. Joey was in there and it was time to finish this. To shut the machine off, and take him down once and for all.

“Once this is over I ain’t touching another pen for the rest of my life.” Wally grumbles and for once Sammy nods in agreement. 

Bendy takes Henry’s hand as they travel into the ink machine. There’s the constant hiss and thrum of machinery, gears clanking as they entered the machine. 

He didn’t expect it to be so _big_ , there’s glass planes that held lost ones drowning in constant ink, yellowed eyes watching them as they continued to travel to the center of the machine.

Inside there was monitors, each playing a separate cartoon of the show. Henry looks around as they all pile into the room. 

“So you decided to come. After all this time, you still believe me to be the villain.” A voice says the room shudders and a panel opens lifting Joey Drew up into the center of the machine. He was sitting on what looked like a throne, his legs crossed with a dark expression on his face.

“You are villain. Look what you did to all of us.” Allison snarls and Joey doesn’t say anything just places his hand under his chin, his mismatched eyes glaring down at Henry and Bendy.

“Please, I brought you a new life. A form where you will never die, never go old. You should be thanking me.”

“Thanking you?! You cursed us!” Alice screams and Joey snarls back at them his hand clenched as the panels around the room open showing glass capsules all around.

“You dare speak out of turn? You filthy worm.” Joey sneers as he snaps his fingers. With a grumble the machine trembles under their feet and the glass capsules open thick ink catching all of them.

“Fear not for once this is over, we all will be perfect.” Joey says as Henry finds himself not being captured by the ink, as was Bendy. He watches the ink snap back and trap each of them into a capsule.

“You let them go!” Bendy cries as the glass swings shut and the others bang against the glass ink starting to fill up the tubes.

Joey makes a noise as he moves to stand with a grin wide on his face. Henry steps forward halo in hand, wings spread out to protect the smaller toon.

“This isn’t your fight dear friend. This is the ending of their story, and the beginning of ours.” He says as he steps down from the throne.

Henry gives a snarl and Joey chuckles deeply. “So be it then. I found a little interesting aspect to your form. You see _I_ control the ink, the machine and I are one. And what, pray tell, are you made of dear friend?”

_Ink_.

“You don’t hurt him!” Bendy’s says and Joey laughs, it’s loud and it echoes the center. The others are continuing to try and break away the glass unable to say anything for the glass was soundproof.

“Dear Bendy, why I’m not going to hurt him.” Joey says as he opens his palm, ink swells from the center of his palm. It bubbles and forms into a small miniature version of Henry and the Angel narrows his eyes. “Just a little bit of change that’s all…” 

“Let’s see if you can handle this.” 

Joey crushes the figure into his hand and Henry feels it. He gives a shocked noise as he falls to the floor as the pain explodes through him. As if he was ripping from the inside out. 

“Stop it! Stop it now!” 

“The shows just begun! I’d like to introduce you to a new character of mine! The Angel that fell from Grace, the dishonored Fallen One!” 

Henry groans as he feels his body ache and burn as it’s stretching and growing. His halo shakes and then there’s a large _SNAP_. 

The golden band breaks into two pieces, bits floating as if gravity didn’t apply to it. Henry screams in agony hunching over as the ink swells in his body, stretching and pulling. Claws ripped out of his gloves, ink dripping as his wings fused with his arms, creating these tattered wings that are much to large. No longer was his body small, but stretched towering over Joey. Large horns ripped away from his skin, his body crumbling and creating into something else.

Ink fell from his face covering the glowing eyes. 

A pained whimper escapes the toothy maw of the beast and Joey grins widely. 

“This is your savior! Behold!” Joey says as a collar wraps around the large but thin beast’s neck and he yanks on the chain that forms around Joey’s hand.

“Henry?” Bendy whispers as Joey grips the chain and the beast says nothing, just breathing heavily. 

“Henry’s not here anymore Bendy. He’s a traitor and as fallen from grace.” Joey says as he strokes the large creature’s head getting no response. 

“N-no! He’s in there! Henry! Henry!” Bendy shouts rushing to grab him but Joey slams his foot into the ink demon kicking him aside.

“Enough! This is the end! You have lost! Play the part you were meant to play! All of you! Your savior bent to my will and I suggest you do the same.” 

There’s a whimper from Bendy as he holds his stomach, claws starting to rip from his gloves but he stops when The Fallen One snarls and slams his head into Joey’s side the man flying to the side. 

With a grunt Joey hits a monitor and the Fallen snarls showing rows of large teeth one glowing eye poking through. 

“Damn you.” Joey says as he grips his side, moving to stand. The Fallen steps closer claws clicking against the metal floor the halo between his horns glowing brightly. “N-now now, this isn’t the time for-“ Joey scrambles out of the way as large claws rake through the monitor sparks flying.

The beast roars as Joey runs to another opening the panel shutting close before the Fallen could follow him. 

Bendy slowly stands his side aching from Joey kicking him but he carefully goes to the Fallen, no _Henry_. The creature is breathing heavily, hunched over with ink splattering down his face. 

Hesitating Bendy places a gloved hand over the large creature’s arm and the beast moves its head quietly leaning closer to Bendy. 

“H-Henry? It’s me, ya buddy Bendy.” He stammers reaching to swipe away the ink that covered his face. Seeing the glowing eyes focused on him Henry gives a soft whimper, his form shuddering as if he was crying. “It’s okay! It’s o-okay.” Bendy cries grabbing Henry’s face and pulled him closer holding him closely even if he had to basically stand on his tiptoes to even touch Henry.

Henry gives a whine before he looks up at the capsules, hearing the banging as the ink was still starting to fill up. He moves to stand gently pulling away from Bendy and then rams his horns into the first capsule making Allison fall over coughing out ink as her body starts to form back to what it was before.

“Henry! Oh god Henry.” Allison says as she stands but Henry pays no heed making sure to break open all the capsules so the group wouldn’t drown in ink. 

Soon everyone was out, and Henry stood there quietly as Bendy stroked his feathered arm finding the feathers to feel like the real stuff but still looked like ink. 

“What do we do now?” Sammy whispers and Allison pulls her sword out.

“We kill the bastard and get Henry back to normal. He can’t control us. This ends now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there ya have it! I’m sure I have more things in my docs that I can post up, but if you’d like to see something specific in the Monochrome Universe please don’t hesitate to hit me up on tumblr!


	3. I’m Not Part of Your Machine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it guys. I had a dream about this last night and I was like you know what yeah, I am going to write this. 
> 
> So here it is. Completely canon compared to the others! Woo! Enjoy.

It’s always darkness when you first enter. Just this...void of nothing. You can’t see but oh, you can hear. The screams and shouts, the cries to be let free. 

So many voices, all trapped in this void. 

They need to be let free. 

Free...let...free. 

There’s a gasp, and a sputter and suddenly there’s light. It’s blinding and she has to pull her head down unable to properly see for a moment. 

She coughs, gags, as the taste of ink is on her tongue, burning her nose. 

On instinct she pulls herself out of the puddle of the gloppy liquid coughing and wheezing, lifting herself onto the worn wooden floor. 

It was quiet now. Wiping the ink from her eyes she shuddered, glancing around in panic. 

Where? 

It was a studio. She couldn’t tell where or why she was here. She was lost. 

She didn’t know her name at first. Only that she was an Angel. Alice, Angel. 

The Studio was a labyrinth. A maze of death, and the further she stepped in, the more she realized who she was. 

And her name? What...was her name? 

Her name was...Allison. 

...

Time was not relevant in the Studio. It stood still. They did not age, and it was long before she lost count as the days went by. 

Then she found him. 

A Boris. 

He was trapped, in a mechanism that looked like an operating table. Whimpering and crying for help. 

She knew who had done this. Another one who called herself an Angel. But she was no angel. She took hearts, destroyed people. Alison did not think that’s what Angels did.

Her heart ached for this Boris, watching as the searchers came closer and closer. The poor thing is unable to do anything to protect himself. 

So she does it for him. 

Brandishing her makeshift sword she comes in and slices the searchers up, the things gurgling in surprise and Boris gives a bark of surprise. 

He can’t speak, and neither can she. But he’s thankful that she can tell. 

Allison quickly unhooks Boris and finds his name to be Tom. 

Tom. 

Not Boris, but Tom. 

That name is familiar and something about him is special. 

He sticks with her the rest of the time. They learn how to speak, to remember. 

He’s there when she remembers who she was. A voice actress who came to the studio to voice a beautiful Angel girl. 

Only to end up falling into this hellish labyrinth. 

And like any labyrinth there has to be a monster who lurks in its halls. 

The Ink Demon. 

The creature is tall, lanky and breathes heavily. You can tell when he’s around due to his inky veins. Like a spider web weaving across the walls as he walked. 

The first time they encounter him he screeches at them. 

Tom shouts for her to run and she does so, holding the Boris' hand as they race across the faded halls of the studio. 

For there was no fighting the Ink Demon. 

They discover the only place that’s safe is a Miracle Station. These little places that had limited space but a closed door. 

The creature couldn’t enter them, and would eventually give up going back to wandering the studio. Patrolling it. 

They stood in the station for a long time. Tom holds her close against his chest, and it feels natural. The only light is from a small halo that’s embedded in her head, acting more like a headband than a true halo. 

She leans into the embrace, closing her eyes and for a moment she sees a face. It’s a bit blurry and it smiles at her, holding her hand as a sparkly ring is on her finger. 

But the image is gone and she can’t hold onto it. 

So she holds onto Tom, and for that small moment...they find peace. 

...

Tom is her only friend in this studio. They laugh and talk often, a small thing but it’s the only thing that’s keeping them sane. 

There’s so many dangers in the studio that they find a place that is safe. 

And they stay there, only leaving when they need supplies. 

And one day Tom has an idea. 

“We need...to turn off the machine.” He tells her. Tom’s voice is deep. Raspy. Not what she expected a Boris to sound like. 

But he’s not a Boris. 

He is Tom. 

His voice was comforting. Deep and strong and pulled her out of the thoughts that swirled inside of her. Made her remember who she was. What she was. 

Allison looks at him from her drawings, her eyes wide. 

“Turn it off?” She questions and he nods pulling out a makeshift blueprint. 

He was a mechanic, he remembered that. He was connected to the machine he told her one night. Something about it made him feel… 

Well he never could describe it.

Allison puts the paintbrush down into the can of ink she has and steps forward. 

“Yes, turn it off. I think we can do it...it might stop this all together.” He tells her and he can see how determined he is. 

Allison looks at the blueprint, and then back at the Boris. 

“Do you think so?” 

Tom looks at down, and this time he’s unsure. “We have to do something, aside from sitting around here...Allison I can’t…”

“Okay.” 

He lifts his head in surprise, “Wh-“ 

“Okay. Let’s turn the machine off.” 

Tom for the first time in a while, smiles. It’s a goofy smile since it’s coming from a Boris toon, but it’s a smile. 

And that’s what makes Allison more sure that they can do this. 

...

The machine is an imposing foe. Large and threatening. 

It sits in the middle of a chasm, chains holding it upwards as ink splatters to the floor. 

“Didn’t look like this before.” Tom mutters and Allison isn’t sure what he means. 

They still were figuring out their identities, memories came and went, and they were equally confusing. 

“Smaller.” 

He’s talking under his breath and Allison doesn’t bother to question it. 

She holds the sword in her hand tightly. 

“He did this. He ruined us.” 

“Who?” Allison asks tilting her head this time as they look out to the machine hanging before them.

“Joey Drew.” 

That name sends a chill down her spine. Suddenly her heart stills and Tom looks angry. Far more than usual. 

“We need to shut it off.” 

“How?” 

Tom looks over at the room before them. “Get rid of the totems. We gotta hide them. So no one can turn it back on.” 

Allison nods and quickly begins to take the items off the pedestals. She hears a low thrumming noise as the machine begins to sputter, like a car. 

A car? 

She shakes those thoughts away and begins to shove the items into her bag that she had. 

“Good good..” He says as he grunts pulling a lever and the machine starts to steam hissing and growling like a beast. 

There’s a gurgling sound and Allison turns seeing searchers...no..gatherers starting to clamber in. Hissing and snarling like the machine. 

“We have company!” She shouts to Tom and Tom looks over his shoulder as he’s tinkering with the main controls. 

“I’m almost done!” 

Allison holds her sword and begins to swipe at the gatherers. Their bodies were more...solid than searchers, with hardened ink covering most of their bodies red crystal like formations poking out of the inky mess of their body. 

But she does her best to keep them away from Tom. 

“Tom!” She shouts as she finally takes down one of the many, and Tom is still fiddling with it. 

“Tom!!” 

Allison stops when the Studio rumbles, the machine just expelling steam in the other room. She runs to Tom and pulls him as the chains creek and groan pulling the Ink Machine into the depths. 

The gatherers squeal and cry as they disappear into the ground, melting away into nothing. 

“We did it.” He whispers looking at himself but finds nothing happened. 

The machine was off, so why wasn’t everything back to normal. 

_ What have you DONE?!  _

Allison whips her head looking to the entrance seeing the Ink Demon before them, his form more twisted that normal, ink splattering off him. 

_ Look what you did, what have you done?!  _

“The machine is off, as it should be!” Tom barks and Allison grabs his hand. They couldn’t fight the Ink Demon. 

Even with the machine off she didn’t want to risk that chance. 

_ You don’t know what you just did!!!  _

Tom snarls and Allison pulls the Boris away as the Ink Demon jumps, an action she’s never seen the creature done before. 

It slams against the wood, some splintering away as he lands snarling. 

“We need to go Tom!!” She shouts, the machine was off but they were still here. It was still here! 

Tom doesn’t argue but follows her and they race through the studio. 

_ I don’t think so! You messed with something that’s mine and now I’ll get to take something in return!  _

They don’t have a chance to turn another way, with the Ink Demon appearing before them through an inky portal that only he could use. 

“Stay away!” Allison shouts as she steps in front of Tom holding her sword. 

The Ink Demon just laughs using his mighty clawed hand and swipes her away. She slams into the wall and there’s a scraping sound. She gives a cry. She sees a piece of her horn tumble to the floor as she fell against the wall, feeling drained from the Ink Demon’s touch. 

“Stop. Stop!” She cries trying to stand but finds herself unable to. 

_ You both are idiots. _

He reaches up and grabs Tom, holding him higher than the ground. The Boris whimpers like a dog as the Demon uses his other hand to grab at Tom’s hand. 

_ You’ll soon see the consequences of turning off the Machine. _

Allison watches in horror as The Ink Demon rips away Tom’s arm. Like it was nothing. Like ripping a piece of paper right down the middle. 

Tom screams in pain, despite being a toon you could still feel such a thing. Ink splatters across the walls as the Ink Demon slams Tom to the floor, his arm still in his. 

_ Can’t come back now.  _

“Tom! You monster!” Allison cries, finally able to find her voice as she crawls to Tom, the Boris holding to what was left of his arm, trying to stop the ink from spilling. 

The Ink Demon just laughs before it disappears into the wall, leaving nothing but a web of ink in its toll. 

“Tom! Tom!! oh I’m sorry I’m so so sorry!” Allison cries moving closer and holding her companion close. She cries inky tears as Tom leans against her collarbone breathing harshly. 

“This is all my fault I should of! I should of done something!!” She cries and Tom just groans trying to tell her that no, this wasn’t her fault. 

“We have to turn the machine back on.” 

Tom shakes his head immediately. “No! No...no we can’t. It’s okay. I-I accept this, we did good. This is good. Without those parts he can’t...he can’t get away with this.” 

Allison holds him close, her head pressed against his inky fur, sobbing loudly with Tom holding her arm weakly. 

What had they done? 

Unknowingly when the machine was off there was no going back to the ink. There was no returning. This was permanent. Tom never got his arm back, instead finding the mechanical bendy and using that arm. 

Allison never forgave herself for that, feeling so guilty that Tom lost his arm because she couldn’t be strong enough. 

He never blamed her but she still felt deep down it was her fault. 

The machine stayed quiet until one day...one day it roared to life. 

Allison hid those totems so well and yet, someone turned it on. 

Someone….who eventually would save them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And ta-da there ya have it! If you have any questions or anything you want to see hit me up on tumblr! I am far more active on there than I am here. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this and hope everyone has a good day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for this wonderful journey I have had with this story. I hope you liked my little surprise. Just so you know this won’t be a frequent updated story, more like if I ever have a thought or prompt and I get writing it will be posted here. 
> 
> Also if you ever want to see a certain thing don’t hesitate to ask on my tumblr! You’ll find me there with the same name!


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